Jim Fusilli talks to Susanna Hoffs and Matthew Sweet about their album

Susanna Hoffs and Matthew Sweet continue their romp through rock and pop's history with "Under the Covers, Vol. 3" (Shout). Celebrating the 1980s, the new disc features their versions of tunes by the dB's, the Go-Go's, Kirsty MacColl, R.E.M., Roxy Music, the Smiths, XTC and more. Like the previous two albums, which featured first the music of the '60s and then the '70s, this one is a delight. The lead vocalist of the Bangles—that's Ms. Hoffs—and Mr. Sweet, an accomplished power-pop performer, bring considerable talent and even more enthusiasm to a project that's a whole lot of fun for artists and listeners alike.

The '80s coincided with the period in which the two musicians began their professional careers. Mr. Sweet released the first of his 11 solo albums in 1986. With the Bangles, Ms. Hoffs sang two of the era's most enduring pop hits, the Prince composition "Manic Monday" and the novelty hit "Walk Like an Egyptian." But neither musician views the songs they cover on this new disc as the product of their peers.

"All of these artists came ahead of me," Ms. Hoffs said. "I used to go see the Go-Go's at local shows and leave fliers for my band." During a conference call last month, they spoke, often to each other, about certain '80s songs as if they had been delivered by gods. On "Volume 3," Ms. Hoffs sings "More Than This" from Roxy Music's 1982 disc, "Avalon." "That album is such a sonic soundscape," she said. "It was the sexy record of the '80s."

'Under the Covers, Vol. 3'

Susanna Hoffs And Matthew Sweet

(Shout)

"We're not trying to be them," Mr. Sweet said of the artists they cover. "We're bowing down to them. It would be so heinous if we tried to imitate them."

Born in Los Angeles, Ms. Hoffs, who is 54, was raised on the music of the '60s, thanks to her parents' passion for it. "I just remember so many sunshiny days," she said of her childhood. "It's a musical memory."

"The '60s are subliminal for me," said Mr. Sweet, who was born in Lincoln, Neb., in 1964. "Records weren't a big deal in my household." His parents, he added, "would lock onto one album for six months—that Carly Simon album, or Irish folk tunes. When I got to my teens, I discovered all kinds of music. From '76 to '84 is all mixed up in my head. But I was too much of a teenager not to be in awe of the Bongos and the dB's."

On their '60s cover album, released in 2006, they took on the Beach Boys, the Beatles, Bob Dylan, the Velvet Underground and others—their version of Neil Young's "Cinnamon Girl" and Love's "Alone Again Or" are very effective remakes. For their '70s album, issued three years later, they put out 26 songs in a deluxe set including "Second Hand News" by Fleetwood Mac and the Yes medley "I've Seen All Good People: Your Move/All Good People" that featured those bands' guitarists Lindsay Buckingham and Steve Howe. Dhani Harrison sat in on guitar on their version of his father George's "Beware of Darkness."

For the latest project, Ms. Hoffs said, "We were consciously editing ourselves so we didn't record that many '80s songs."

The duo decided to record covers in 2005, after they had worked together on "Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery." (They were in the band Ming Tea, and Ms. Hoffs sang the Bacharach-David tune "The Look of Love.")

"I wanted to do a Sue album. I love her voice," Mr. Sweet said. But they were hooked by the fun and challenge of a covers project. From the beginning, they focused on re-creating the sense of joy they felt whenever they heard their favorite old tunes, compiling long lists of songs. By the time sessions for the third album began, they knew each other so well they worked separately at their home studios, trading tracks via the web, adding their parts and suggesting others. Though they were apart, Ms. Hoffs said, "It was like working in our own artist's loft. I felt very free."

What's evident on all three albums is how much Ms. Hoffs and Mr. Sweet love classic rock and pop. "There is such a pleasure in getting to make records of our favorite songs," Ms. Hoffs said. "I have the opportunity to sing as I did as a kid when I was singing along."

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